Causal Queries from Observational Data in Biological Systems via Bayesian Networks: An Empirical Study in Small Networks

Throughout their lifetime, organisms express their genetic program, i.e. the instruction manual for molecular actions in every cell. The products of the expression of this program are messenger RNA (mRNA); the blueprints to produce proteins, the cornerstones of the living world. The diversity of shapes and the fate of cells is a result of different readings of the genetic material, probably because of environmental factors, but also because of epigenetic organisational capacities. The genetic material appears regulated to produce what the organism needs in a specific situation. We now have access to rich genomics data sets. We see them as instantaneous images of cell activity from varied angles, through different filters.